Last two large headstones restored at Wing Cemetery

PETERSBURG ? The last two large historic headstones at Wing Cemetery in downtown Petersburg were put back into place this week, completing an effort to restore nearly 100 headstones since July.

From Archive Data

PETERSBURG — The last two large historic headstones at Wing Cemetery in downtown Petersburg were put back into place this week, completing an effort to restore nearly 100 headstones since July.

Jim and Sandy Dusa used a forklift to lift the fallen headstones on the graves of Richard Peters, who founded the Village of Petersburg in 1846-48, and John Peters, a relative. Richard Peters, who died in 1862 at 63, had one of the largest stones in the two-acre cemetery, said Dawn Pirolli, president of the Wing Cemetery Restoration Association.

"They had to put the stones on plywood so they wouldn't sink," Ms. Pirolli said Thursday. "The two stones are so huge and heavy, that's why they needed a forklift. They stand about 12 feet high and look so beautiful."

The granite stones had fallen over the years and broken into pieces. Mr. Dusa used cement and a bonding material to piece them back together again, she said.

Both of the Peters men are buried toward the back of the cemetery located off Center St. across from the Center Street Collision. Their families are buried around them.

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